the larger picture painted by today's statistics is hard to miss: Media is embedded in children's lives and dominating hours of their days, while reading is trailing behind. The next trick is to tease out what I call the Three C's: the content, context and the individual child. What kinds of media -- what TV shows, which online games? Who's with them as they read and play, and how is that experience integrated into what they are learning or interested in? And what ages and dispositions of children are drawn to what kinds of media for what reasons? Until we can answer these questions, we will continue to be in the dark about the impact of media and its complicated connection to literacy among the next generation.
Tiffany Kloes on 02 Mar 09This is a blog written by John Funk who "has worked in the early childhood field since 1979. He has taught preschool, first and second grades, and he spent the largest part of his teaching career in kindergarten. Mr. Funk was named "Utah Teacher of the Year" in 1996. He has worked as an early childhood specialist for a large school district and has managed early childhood services for Salt Lake CAP Head Start. He is past president of the Utah AEYC. As an early childhood, reading, and literacy consultant for the last decade, he has written on early childhood subjects and products for McGraw Hill and Leap Frog. He served on the editorial panel for Young Children magazine published by NAEYC. Currently, Mr. Funk is the Manager of Educational Programs for Excelligence Learning Corporation, and he teaches courses in children's literature and early reading at the University of Utah."
